It all started with a book. One day Mary Miner was browsing the shelves at the Title Wave bookstore when she stumbled upon a book about cohousing. Intrigued by the concept, she contacted the book's author, Chuck Durrett, who eventually flew up to give a talk about cohousing at the Anchorage Museum.

Forging new relationships as an adult — the ones we characterize as genuine friendships — is simply more difficult in places that aren’t particularly walkable and where participation in one’s surroundings requires a car most of the time.